Useful resources

Training for staff and students can be found on the university-wide equality and diversity page. Further training for staff involved in the recruitment and selection processes is also available as well as unconscious bias training. For students, an equality and diversity module is available.

Contacts can be found on the university-wide equality and diversity contact page. Please note that this page requires a University of Birmingham intranet account to access.

The Not On campaign is a joint guild of students and university campaign to raise awareness about sexual harassment issues and promote an environment in which sexual harassment of any kind is deemed to be wholly unacceptable and to enable students to have the knowledge, ability and confidence to report and take action against all forms of sexual harassment. To this end, workshops on sexual harassment are available student societies committees, teams, and groups. The workshops explore consent in relation to sexual harassment, showing students how to look after themselves and their friends on a night out.

The Not On campaign invites all students a staff to pledge:

• to take action to prevent sexual harassment, and to support others to do so too.
• to not tolerate, condone or ignore sexual harassment of any kind. I will challenge sexual harassment.
• to educate myself and others about sexual harassment – to learn what it is, how it makes people feel and why it’s Not On.

Sign the Not On pledge

The University of Birmingham is involved with equality and diversity activities in a large number of areas:

• gender
• LGBTQ+
• disability
• parents and carers
• race
• religion and belief
• age
• inclusive curriculum
• dignity at work and study

A full list of these areas is available from the university's equality, diversity and Inclusion page, with relevant links provided for each area.

The University of Birmingham equality scheme sets the university's equality objectives for 2016-20 and the actions we will take to promote equality, prevent discrimination and promote greater understanding between different groups of people. The objectives of this scheme can be encapsulated in four key points:

1. Inclusion: we provide an environment that is accessible, welcoming and safe.
2. Attainment: everyone can flourish and succeed to the best of their abilities.
3. Flexibility: we support different ways of working and learning.
4. Embedding: the active promotion of equality informs our culture and behaviour.

The Juno Project is an initiative lead by the Institute of Physics and was created to address gender equality in physics and to encourage better practice for all staff, while also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all students and staff can achieve their full potential. This is done through an evaluation process which recognises that have taken action to address gender equality in physics and to encourage better practice for all staff. This evaluation process is based on six principles:

1. A robust organisational framework to deliver equality of opportunity and reward.
2. Appointment and selection processes and procedures that encourage men and women to apply for academic posts at all levels.
3. Departmental structures and systems which support and encourage the career progression and promotion of all staff and enable men and women to progress and continue in their careers.
4. Departmental organisation, structure, management arrangements and culture that are open, inclusive and transparent and encourage the participation of all staff.
5. Flexible approaches and provisions that enable individuals, at all career and life stages, to optimise their contribution to their department, institution and to science engineering and technology.
6. An environment where professional conduct is embedded into departmental culture and behaviour.

The School of Physics and Astronomy is currently a Juno Champion and is in the the process of renewing this status

The Equality Challenge Unit is an organisation dedicated to advancing equality and diversity in universities and colleges. The Athena SWAN Charter by the ECU was established to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research. This charter, as outlined on the Athena SWAN site, covers women (and men where appropriate) in:

• academic roles in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM), and arts, humanities, social sciences, business, and law (AHSSBL)
• professional and support staff
• trans staff and students

with respect to:

• representation
• progression of students into academia
• journey through career milestones
• working environment for all staff

The School of Physics and Astronomy currently holds an Athena SWAN silver award.